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30 April 2015

On This Day: Scarlet fever claims lives

Scarlet fever claimed three children in Michigan On This Day
in 1881. The Weaver family of Creso, Michigan, fell ill – all eight of them – to scarlet fever. The family lived on an islet in the middle of a marsh. Three children died within 24 hours.

According to the Center for Disease Control
(CDC), scarlet fever is a bacterial infection resulting from group A strep.
Today, it can be treated with antibiotics.